It’s WHO?

Hello all you Dears and Dahlinks!

What a ride it’s been for the past few months!!

I’ve got to say this while it’s fresh in my head: I have enjoyed a few memorably delectable meals in my life…exquisite culinary delights that have actually brought tears to my eyes. A (freshly caught) seafood pasta dish in Cinqua Terre, Italy—a piece of velvety chocolate cake at “Mothers” in Portland, Oregon, paella the way it’s REALLY done, on the beach in Barcelona, Spain, and the salmon extravaganza prepared and served by sons Ian and Trevor last week.
 
I have sons who cook! This has been a marvel to me over the past few years—but this year I was stunned by the sheer deliciousness of how well they cook. Because they are identical twins who work in the restaurant industry, (although in separate cities) they move with each other in a kind of symbiotic kitchen choreography. Watching them chop, sauté, season and arrange with their elegant long-fingered hands was a visual treat. Everything was done and beautifully plated for all of us with perfect timing.
 
The menu? Baked herb-crusted salmon with heritage tomato in a (heavenly/deadly) white cream sauce over calmari and lemon pepper linguini. On the side, tender white asparagus, a deliciously spiced veggie dish of arugula, peppers and onions, next to lightly smoked sautéed shrimp and sea scallops.
 
As the first bite of perfectly cooked salmon nearly melted in our mouths, I looked across the table at Don and both our eyes filled up with tears. Part of our emotion was pride and joy for the gift of these incredible young men in our worlds, and part is the truly brilliant skill of their culinary wizardry.
 

The rest of our Christmas time together was warm and wonderful. All three of our boys made it home again this year. We treasure the time we have together…as it won’t be long before they have their own families and traditions to keep. The boys had requested that we not spend a lot of money on them. “We’re pretty much over that, Mom.”  Instead they requested that we do hand-made items or edible treats for each other. And what they really want is art done by Don or me. (Sweethearts.) One fun little thing Don and I did was to make them each scarves. Don did the whimsical designs and I felted and embroidered the wool.

True to their words, the boys brought home-made foodstuffs from their favorite small store haunts in DC, Seattle and Little Rock. One of the girlfriends had made jars of blackberry/raspberry jam and apple butter, and Charlie gave me heavenly melt-in-your-mouth chocolate truffles. It was a delicious Christmas.  

So. Because I am such a "sometimes writer", let me back up a bit in the sequence of things, and show you some photos of earlier events.

In August—here are the final results of our family and community window panel project at the City Auditorium in my parent’s tiny town. We began the panels last year, and finished and installed them this year. I did all the designs and drawings for the panels, and Mom and Julia and Pam did most of the painting. Dad was our historian for research, and everyone had a hand in doing something.
 

Above: Julia and Mom working on the center panels and being generally amazing with their artistic painting skills.
Below: The four finished center panels that complete the project. (We took some artistic license and included nieces, nephews and my own boys in many of the faces we painted.)
 

The above picture on the right is a close-up section of the final panel. I added the sock monkey as our own private family joke. Hee!Below is the auditorium with all the panels installed. And my cute and proud parents!

 
 
As one walks around the room, the six panels read Pam’s words: "Our ancestors planted their dreams" "Nurtured them with faith" "Prospered in the hard work of progress" "Dedicated to guiding the way" "The spirit of coming together" "Sustains us today and leads us toward tomorrow"
It was truly a gratifying and delightful project for us all. And who knows what mom will come up with for us next summer!
 
I hit the ground running in September at the high school theatre. Here are some shots from our November production “Hello Dolly!” We built most everything from scratch–using table cloths, draperies, bed linens, and even a fabric shower curtain! (see the girl wearing green in the below photo of three couples) Something from nothing–my favorite game! 🙂

And in December, a few of the “Clay Couture” dresses that I made for this year’s craft shows that I host at our house.

In January I think I get to coast for a bit—which means that I will probably paint some rooms in our odd little house. I think the dining room has decided to be red. And the now-I’m-tired-of-purple corner walls in our bedroom behind the piano harp headboard are going to be black. Yep. Black. (I can hear some of you gasp—but I think it will be cool. And if not, as my mother always says: “It’s only paint!")
 
Anyway–gotta run!
Love to all!
:)xoAdagio